Trellising cross arm

ABSTRACT

A trellis support system comprises a vertical post comprising a front portion and first and second opposing side wall portions, the front portion comprising an aperture, the aperture comprising a first portion and a second portion adjacent the first portion, and a horizontal cross arm perpendicular to the vertical post comprising a front portion and first and second opposing side wall portions dimensioned to match the front and side wall portions of the post, the front portion comprising a tab member dimensioned to engage the first portion of the aperture and a lock member positioned adjacent the tab member and dimensioned to engage the second portion of the aperture.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/284,804, filed Dec. 24, 2009, the entirety of which isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present system relates to trellising cross arm assemblies and, moreparticularly, trellising cross arm assemblies for use in trellisinggrapes, berries, olives, coffee beans and the like for agricultural orvineyard applications.

BACKGROUND

It is common practice in vineyards or related agricultural settings toprovide a plant-supporting system, sometimes referred to as a trellis,comprising rows of roll-formed steel vertical posts and a number ofhorizontal cross arms for supporting rows of wires in parallel fashionupon which the agricultural products are trained. Traditional cross armsare fastened to the vertical posts by U-bolts, nuts, washers, or otherexternal hardware. In some cases, the cross arms may be individuallywelded to the posts. The installation process for attaching the crossarms to the posts is expensive, both from a cost perspective of havingto supply separate fastening devices, hardware and tools, as well as theassociated time it takes to attach the cross arms to the vertical postsusing these fastening methods.

SUMMARY

A trellis support system comprises a vertical post comprising a frontportion and first and second opposing side wall portions, the frontportion comprising an aperture, the aperture comprising a first portionand a second portion adjacent the first portion, and a horizontal crossarm perpendicular to the vertical post comprising a front portion andfirst and second opposing side wall portions dimensioned to match thefront and side wall portions of the post, the front portion comprising atab member dimensioned to engage the first portion of the aperture and alock member positioned adjacent the tab member and dimensioned to engagethe second portion of the aperture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of one embodiment of the trellis system,according to one embodiment of principles described herein;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 whencoupled together, according to one embodiment of principles describedherein;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a further embodiment of the trellissystem, according to one embodiment of principles described herein;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 whencoupled together, according to one embodiment of principles describedherein; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the trellis system inuse to support a crop of grapes, according to one embodiment ofprinciples described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally, the present system overcomes the above drawbacks by providinga horizontal cross arm comprising a snap-in tab mechanism formed in thecross arm that mates with a number of apertures defined in the post,securely attaching the horizontal cross arm to the post, quickly andefficiently, without the need for separate fastening devices, hardware,or tools. Not only does the present system provide a means ofconstructing a trellis system faster and more efficiently than othersystems, but also it provides an added benefit of reducing the chance oflost nuts, bolts, washers, or other small hardware being ingested intoexpensive harvesting and processing equipment during harvesting and/orin down-stream processes.

The present system (100) comprises a number of vertical roll-formedsteel posts and a number of horizontal cross arms which are used invineyards, orchards, berry farms, and in other agricultural growingapplications in which plant support is utilized. Referring to FIGS. 1and 2, the system (100) includes, in one embodiment, rows of a number ofvertical posts (10) with a number of horizontal cross arms (12) attachedto each vertical post (10). The vertical posts (10) include a generallyU-shaped cross section along its length comprising a front portion (14),a pair of opposing side portions (16), and a pair of rear portions (18)that each terminate with an overturned curved flange portion referred toin the art as returns (20). The returns (20) strengthen the verticalposts (10) and prevent premature wear of harvester beater bars.

The cross arm (12) also includes a generally U-shaped portion that isconfigured to match and nest within the U-shaped cross section of thevertical post (10). More specifically, the cross arm (12) includes afront portion (22), a pair of opposing side portions (24), and a pair ofrear portions (26) that each extend outwardly from the opposing sideportions (24) at varying lengths. In a similar manner as described abovein connection with the returns (20) of the vertical posts (10), thehorizontal cross arms (12) may comprise perimeter strengthening ridgesthat strengthen the horizontal cross arms (12).

In one embodiment, the vertical post (10) includes coining portionsalong its length configured to contact corresponding portions of thecross arm (12). The coining portions include a front coining (30) andopposing side coinings (32). The coinings (30, 32) add to the strengthof the vertical posts 10. The coining portions (30, 32) are also sizedsuch that when the front portion (22) of the cross arm (12) ispositioned against the underside of the front portion (14) of thevertical post (10) (i.e., against the inside of the “U”), the front (22)and side (24) portions of the cross arm (12) abut with the coiningscoinciding with the corresponding front (14) and side (16) portions ofthe vertical post (10). Further, in one embodiment, the opposing sidecoinings (32) are sized such that the opposing side walls (16) of thevertical post (10) are abutted tightly against the respective frontportions (14) and (22) to make contact, thereby contributing to theoverall integrity and strength of the vertical post (10) and cross arm(12) combination when assembled and locked as described below.

The vertical post (10) and cross arm (12) are mated together using aseries of tabs on the cross arm (12) and corresponding apertures on thevertical post (10) configured to receive the tabs such that thehorizontal cross arm (12) securely locks onto the vertical post (10).More specifically, in one embodiment, the vertical post (10) has anumber of central apertures (34) defined in the front portion (14)configured to receive a number of corresponding central tab members (36)positioned on the front portion (22) of the cross arm (12). The centralaperture (34) and central tab member (36) are formed in the verticalpost (10) by punching, stamping, cutting, or combinations thereof. Inone embodiment, the central aperture (34) has a generally square orrectangular shape at a first end (38), which becomes slightlytrapezoidal near a second end (40) of the aperture. The correspondingcentral tab member (36) is similar in shape, comprising a generallysquare or rectangular shape at a first end (42) and a slightlytrapezoidal shape at a second end (44). The central tab member (36) hasan underside that is separated from the front portion (22) of the crossarm. In one embodiment, a standoff distance (28) is created that isapproximately equal to the thickness (46) of the front portion (14) ofthe vertical post (10) such that a secure and tight fit is createdbetween the central tab member (36) and the front portion (14) of thevertical post (10). Configuring the standoff distance (28) to beslightly less than the thickness (46) of the front portion (14) of thevertical post (10) provides an extremely tight fit when the verticalpost (10) and cross arm (12) are positioned together and secured by thecentral tab member (36) and aperture (34) combination. A stop member(48) is offset a distance 50 from the position where the tab member 36connects with the cross arm (12). The stop member (48) includes anupending tip portion (52) that is sized and configured to abut and lockagainst a corresponding rear side wall (54) at the first end (38) of thecentral aperture (34).

With the central tab member (36) and stop member (48) sized andconfigured with respect to the corresponding central aperture (34), asdescribed above, the trapezoidal shaped second end (44) of the centraltab member (36) may be inserted into the rectangular shaped first end(38) of the central aperture (34) and urged toward the second end (40)until the stop member (48) is pressed into the central aperture (34) andthe upending tip portion (52) abuts and locks against the rear side wall(54). At the same time the upending tip portion (52) abuts and locksagainst the rear side wall (54), a rear underside portion 56 of thecentral tab member (36) abuts corresponding wall sections of thetrapezoidal shaped second end (40) of the central aperture (34). Thedual locking and abutting aspects of the tab and aperture combinationjust described, together with the tight fit provided by the underside ofthe front 14 and opposing side 22 provide an extremely tight fit betweenthe vertical post (10) and cross arm (12).

While the embodiment above described is sufficient to lock the verticalpost (10) and cross arm (12) together for certain purposes, the use ofadditional side-positioned tab and aperture combinations furtherincreases the strength and integrity of the combination. Referring stillto FIGS. 1 and 2, side positioned tab and aperture combinations includea side tab member (58) and a side aperture (60) (only one side requiresdescription due to symmetry). More specifically, in one embodiment, thevertical post (10) has a side aperture (60) positioned at the rearportion (18) configured to receive a corresponding side tab member (58)positioned on the rear portion (26) of the cross arm (12). In oneembodiment, the side aperture (60) has a generally longitudinallyrectangular shape comprising a width (70). The corresponding side tabmember (58) extends upwardly from the rear portion (26) of the cross arm(12) and includes a first portion (62) attached to the cross arm (12)and a second portion (64) that extends in a longitudinal directionparallel to the opposing side walls (24) of the cross arm (12). The sidetab members (58) are formed in the horizontal cross arm (12) bypunching, stamping, cutting, or combinations thereof. The side tabmember (58) has a thickness (71) that is approximately equal to thewidth (70) of the side aperture (60). A tip portion (66) is positionedat the distal end of the second portion (64). The tip portion (66) ofthe side tab member (58) has an underside that is separated from thesurface of the rear portion (26) of the cross arm (12) a standoffdistance (69) that is approximately equal to the thickness (68) of therear portion (18) of the vertical post (10). Configuring the thickness(71) of the side tab member (58) to be approximately equal to the width(70) of the side aperture (60) and the standoff distance (69) to beslightly less than the thickness (68) of the rear portion (18) of thevertical post (10) provides an extremely tight fit when the verticalpost (10) and cross arm (12) are positioned together and secured, bothas described above with respect to the central tab member (36) andcentral aperture (34) combination, but also with respect to the side tabmember (58) and side aperture (60) combination.

With the side tab member (58) and corresponding side aperture (60) sizedand configured as described above, the cross arm (12) is locked with thevertical post (10) in a similar fashion as described above. Thetrapezoidal shaped second end (44) of the central tab member (36) isinserted into the rectangular shaped first end (38) of the centralaperture (34) and urged toward the second end (40) until the stop member(48) is pressed into the central aperture (34) and the upending tipportion (52) abuts and locks against the rear side wall (54).Simultaneously, the second ends (64) of the pair of side tab members(58) are inserted into corresponding ones of the pair of rectangularshaped side apertures (60) and urged in the same direction as thecentral tab member (36). At the same time the upending tip portion (52)abuts and locks against the rear side wall (54) and the rear undersideportion (56) of the central tab member (36) abuts corresponding wallsections of the trapezoidal shaped second end (40) of the centralaperture (34), the tip portions (64) of the side tab members (58) willabut corresponding surfaces of the rear portions (18) of the verticalpost (10) and the sides of the side tab members (58) will abutcorresponding sides of the rectangular shaped side apertures (60). Thedual locking and abutting aspects of the central and side tabs andapertures combination just described, together with the tight fitprovided by the underside of the front (14) and opposing sides (22) ofthe vertical post (10) provide an extremely tight fit between thevertical post (10) and cross arm (12). Further, the combination justdescribed—i.e., the combination of using both central and side tabmembers and apertures—provides the added advantage of increased strengthand increased ability to resist torsional loads generated by unbalancedweighting on opposing ends of the cross arms.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 and also 5, the cross arm (12) includesat least a pair of wire slots (72) for carrying wires (74). In anembodiment, the wire slots (72) may be formed at various points on thecross arm (12). For example, the wire slots (72) may be located on anyportion of the perimeter of the rear portion (26) of the cross arm (12)including the sides, the top, the bottom, or combinations thereof. Eachof the slots (72) includes upper (77) and lower (76) carrying portionsfor maintaining the wire (74) in place. A flanged opening (78) includesan upturned flange portion (80) that creates an opening for insertion ofthe wire (74) into the slot (72), after which the wire (74) occupies theupper (77) or lower (76) carrying portions. The upturned flange portion(80) also prevents the wire (74) from sliding out of the slot (72) ifpushed upward by some disturbance to the wire (74) such as may occurduring the harvesting of the plants or crops. On the other hand, thewire (74) can be removed when desired by bending the wire (74) slightlyto be slid past the upturned flange portion (80).

Referring now to FIGS. 3-5, the trellis system (100) is disclosed. Thetrellis system (100) includes a vertical post (110) and one or morecross arms (112) constructed as described above. In one embodiment, thetrellis system (100) includes a series of cross arms (112, 113, 114).The series of cross arms (112, 113, 114) have lengths that may varyaccording to their positioning on the vertical post (110). For example,the lengths vary in one embodiment such that the lowermost cross arm(114) has the shortest length and the upper most cross arm (112) has thelongest length.

The trellis system (100) is erected in traditional fashion, augmented asdescribed above and below. Specifically, the vertical post (110) isdriven into the ground. A series of cross arms (112, 113, 114) are thenpositioned on the vertical post (110) as described above. Further, asdescribed above, the horizontal cross arms are then snapped into orotherwise attached to the vertical posts 110. Finally, a series of wires(74) are incorporated into the system (100) by inserting each wire (74)into a corresponding slot (72) on the cross arms (112, 113, 114). Afterthe series of wires (74) are incorporated into the system (100), thewires (74) are anchored to the ground. The wires (74) are anchored tothe ground at the ends of rows of crops either directly or to anintermediary endpost. In this manner, the wires (74) positioned as abovedescribed support grapes or other crops for proper growth, ripening, andease of harvesting.

The various components of the above described system—e.g., the verticalpost (10, 110) and cross arms (12, 112, 113, 114)—may be constructedusing any suitable material comprising sufficient strength to maintainthe integrity of the connection between the vertical post (10, 110) andcross arm (12, 112, 113, 114) and to support the crops during growth andharvesting. The components are constructed using high strength steel,which affords sufficient strength to accomplish the cited requirementsand, further, allows springback to permit the cross arms (12, 112, 113,114) to be secured to the vertical posts (10, 110) as described above.While high strength steel is the material for fabrication, those skilledin the art will appreciate that other materials—e.g., other metals andmetal alloys, plastics, polymers, fiberglass, carbon fiber reinforcedplastics, resins, or combinations thereof—may be used for suchmanufacture. In one embodiment, the vertical posts (10. 110) are made of11 to 14 gauge, roll-formed steel. In another embodiment, the verticalposts (10. 110) are made of 12 or 13 gauge, roll-formed steel. Inanother embodiment, the cross arms (12, 112, 113, 114) are made of 12 to16 gauge steel. In yet another embodiment, the cross arms (12, 112, 113,114) are made of 13gauge steel. Further, in another embodiment, thevertical posts (10, 110) and horizontal cross arms (12, 112, 113, 114)are made of coated steel or uncoated steel. Further, the variouscomponents of the trellis system (100) may be formed by roll-forming,punching, stamping, cutting, or other forms of metal working.

The foregoing description of various embodiments of the present systemhas been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present system to theprecise form disclosed, and many modifications and variations arepossible in light of the above teaching without deviating from thespirit and the scope of the present system. The embodiments describedare selected to best explain the principles of the present system andits practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art tobest utilize the present system in various embodiments and with variousmodifications as suited to the particular purpose contemplated. It isintended that the scope of the present system be defined by the claimsappended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cross arm comprising: a front portion; a firstsidewall portion; and a second side wall portion opposing the firstsidewall portion, in which an abutting surface of the front portion, thefirst sidewall portion, and the second sidewall portion is dimensionedto match an abutting surface of a front portion, and first and secondside wall portions of a vertical post, in which the front portion of thecross arm comprises: a tab member to engage a first portion of anaperture defined in the front portion of the vertical post; and a lockmember positioned adjacent the tab member to engage a second portion ofthe aperture of the vertical post.
 2. The cross arm of claim 1, in whichthe tab member and lock member are formed by punching, stamping,cutting, or combinations thereof.
 3. The cross arm of claim 1, furthercomprising a perimeter strengthening ridge to strengthen the cross armand prevent premature failure of harvester beater bars.
 4. The cross armof claim 1, in which the front portion, and first and second side wallportions of the vertical post comprise a number of comings to create aninterference fit between the front portion, the first sidewall portion,and the second sidewall portion of the cross arm and the front portion,and first and second side wall portions of the vertical post.
 5. Thecross arm of claim 1, in which the tab member comprises a rectangularshape at a first end and a trapezoidal shape at a second end.
 6. Thecross arm of claim 1, in which the tab member comprises a standoffdistance between the underside of the tab member and the front portionof the cross arm.
 7. The cross arm of claim 6, in which the standoffdistance is approximately equal to the thickness of the front portion ofthe vertical post to create an interference fit between the tab memberand the front portion of the vertical post.
 8. The cross arm of claim 6,in which the standoff distance is less than the thickness of the frontportion of the vertical post to create an interference fit between thetab member and the front portion of the vertical post.
 9. The cross armof claim 1, in which the lock member comprises an upending tip portionthat is dimensioned to abut against the second portion of the apertureof the vertical post in opposition to the tab member.
 10. The cross armof claim 1, in which the tab member and lock member are dimensioned withrespect to the aperture of the vertical post to create an interferencefit between the tab member and lock member, and the first and secondportions of the aperture.
 11. The cross arm of claim 1, furthercomprising a number of side tab members formed in a number of rearportions of the cross bar to engage a corresponding number of sideapertures defined in a corresponding number of rear portions of thevertical post.
 12. The cross arm of claim 11, in which the side tabmembers have a thickness approximately equal to the width of the sideapertures.
 13. The cross arm of claim 11, in which each of the side tabmembers comprise a tip portion, in which the standoff distance betweenthe tip portions and the rear portions of the cross arm is approximatelyequal to the thickness of the rear portions of the vertical post. 14.The cross arm of claim 1, further comprising a number of wire slots tocarry a number of trellis wires.
 15. The cross arm of claim 14, in whicheach of the wire slots comprises: a first carrying portion; a secondcarrying portion; and a flanged opening, the flanged opening comprisingan upturned flange portion to create an opening for insertion of thetrellis wires into the wire slots while preventing the trellis wiresfrom sliding out of the wire slots.